Funding priority

Protecting valuable habitats: Methods and approaches for habitat restoration

Location

Oelsen, Pirna administrative district, eastern Erzgebirge region, Saxony

Period

04/2001 - 09/2001 (preliminary study)
05/2003 - 12/2006 (main project)
05/2003 - 12/2007 (accompanying research)

Brief description

From a conservation standpoint, mountain and wet meadows in upland regions are highly valuable habitats that are home to numerous rare plants and animals. The habitat types requiring protection in meadow situations of this kind are increasingly at risk, in some cases from grazing intensification and in others from abandonment of past extensive management and the resulting spread of trees and shrubs. This project aims to test various types of measures on a model basis: measures aiming to regenerate grassland habitats, to promote their use and management in keeping with conservation objectives, and to link them into a regional habitat network. It also aims to expand and link botanically important vegetation complexes of species-rich montane grassland communities comprising mountain meadows, mat-grass swards, wet meadows and fens.

Building on the findings of a preliminary study and in close cooperation with land users, a differentiated approach will be taken to combining and testing various management and regeneration methods (mowing, grazing, mulching, etc.) to sustain and restore the former extent of mountain and wet meadows. Additional work such as rewetting and landscaping may be needed to turn some structurally degraded, dewatered and heavily modified meadows back into wet meadows.

Entity responsible for the project

Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz e. V. (preliminary study, main project and accompanying research)
Wilsdruffer Straße 2
01067 Dresden, Germany

Liaison at BfN

Lothar Schröder  FG I 1.2

Project funding agencies

BfN, State of Saxony and Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz

Grant amount

€1,667,000